Double Red Sweet Corn

An intensely red/purple corn variety bred by Alan Kapuler of Oregon, ‘Double Red’ is excellent & very sweet when eaten on the cob. However, it shows its Hopi corn ancestry by also making very good cornmeal when dried & ground (double duty variety). The plants will get 6-7’ tall & the stalks are streaked with red. The red-purple ears are packed with the same anthocyanins that give color to blueberries & blackberries. Expect 2 ears per plant. Corn needs lot of nitrogen to thrive, so prepare a bed in full sun with good compost or manure. Corn is wind pollinated so you need more than one plant to get ears. Pam Pierce, author of Golden Gate Gardening recommends planting 16 seedlings in a 4’x4’ block, 1’ apart. You may be able to get away with less plants, but if planted in a line, the ears will not be properly pollinated. Keep the bed well watered & if you live in a high-wind area, stake the plants.